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Thread: Smiling under the sun

  1. #1
    Tony M's Avatar
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    Smiling under the sun

    I took this photo earlier this year of my daughter in Casa de Campo, a reserve on the edge of Madrid. I wanted a composition with the sunlight framing the portrait. Any C&C would be much appreciated. There is some lens flare; could I have eliminated it with a lens hood? (I haven't got around to getting one.) I thought a lens hood reduces flare when the light source is out of the picture, and so it would not help here.

    Photo details: Canon EOS 40D; 50mm lens; f/1.4; 1/3200s; ISO 200; spot metering.

    Smiling under the sun

  2. #2
    jiro's Avatar
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    Re: Smiling under the sun

    The sun peeked out from your daughter's head so yes, you would surely have some flare. If you do a re-shoot, you can re-position the camera in such a way that the sun is just a tad below the head. That would create those nice rim lighting without the flares. You can increase your aperture to F/2.8 for a more sharper image though I would really recommend to go as small as f/4. Good luck.

  3. #3
    Tony M's Avatar
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    Re: Smiling under the sun

    Thanks Jiro. I did shoot some other photos with the sun just below the head, as you advise, and I did get the nice rim lighting without the flare. That in fact answers my question: a lens hood wouldn't have helped, as it really is to prevent light entering the lens from outside the image frame.

    I will try with a larger aperture as you suggest, to get a sharper image.

  4. #4
    jiro's Avatar
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    Re: Smiling under the sun

    Hello, Tony. A larger aperture opening would mean a lower designated number. f/1.8 has a larger opening than f/4. The higher the number, the smaller the aperture opening is so my suggestion would mean that you close the aperture to get a smaller opening at f/4. Usually (but not as always depending on lens design) 2 f-stops higher than the largest aperture opening would give you the sharpest results. Hope this helps.

  5. #5
    Tony M's Avatar
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    Re: Smiling under the sun

    Oops - I meant a smaller aperture! Thanks for your patient explanation, but don't worry, I'm not that ignorant of the basics!

  6. #6
    jiro's Avatar
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    Re: Smiling under the sun

    My apologies. I did not mean to express it that way.

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